Etymograph

English

brahmin

Brahmin comes from Sanskrit ब्राह्मण ‘relating to or given by a Brahmin, befitting…’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰerǵʰ-1‘to become high, rise, elevate’uncertain
  2. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEब्राह्मण2brā́hmaṇa‘relating to or given by a Brahmin, befitting or becoming a Brahmin’
  3. Portuguesec. 1500–presentbramine2
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600bramine2
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1988brahmin2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Sanskrit ब्राह्मण
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English brahmin
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1988, Jane O'Reilly, Even Brahmins Get The Blues: “Branching from the root of it all was New…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰerǵʰ-Wiktionary, Sanskrit ब्राह्मण‘to become high, rise, elevate’uncertain
  2. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEब्राह्मणWiktionary, English brahminbrā́hmaṇa‘relating to or given by a Brahmin, befitting or becoming a Brahmin’
  3. Portuguesec. 1500–presentbramineWiktionary, English brahmin
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600bramineWiktionary, English brahmin
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1988brahminWiktionary, English brahmin. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1988, Jane O'Reilly, Even Brahmins Get The Blues: “Branching from the root of it all was New…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- ‘to become high, rise, elevate’

force, comfortable, fort, berry, borough, burgess, bourgeois, barrow, burglar, burgh, forcible, brie, burg, borgo, bergh, bourguignon, broch, 22 more

Today it means

noun A member of the Hindu priestly caste, one of the four varnas or social groups based on occupation in ancient Hindu society.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “brahmin”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Sanskrit ब्राह्मण. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- / brahmin

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